Apple seemingly made a point not to mention Google in the
lawsuit recently filed against HTC. Still, the search giant has been a bit of
an 800-billion-pound gorilla in the room. Apple's filings
appear firmly aimed at HTC handsets running Android--arguably the one smarthphone
OS on the market right now that has any chance of taking a serious chunk out of out
of Apple's iPhone market share.

So what does Google think about the lawsuit from
its one-time bosom buddy? A Google spokesperson sent out an unsolicited
response to the situation, stating, "We are not a party to this lawsuit.
However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have
helped us to develop it."

In other words, Google's with HTC on this one. It's hard to
say precisely why Apple didn't name Google--the developer of the OS--in the suit.
Perhaps the company was content to take on a slightly less imposing opponent.
Or maybe Eric Schmidt and Steve Jobs are scheduled for a round of Segway polo
at Wozniak's house this weekend.

Whatever the case may be, Google has embraced the inevitable and drawn a line in the litigious sand, the latest in a recent string of
mounting disputes against the two companies.

Brian Heater has worked at a number of tech pubs, including Engadget, Laptop, and PCMag (where he served as Senior Editor). Most recently, he was as the Managing Editor of TechTimes.com. His writing has appeared in Spin, Wired, Playboy, Entertainment Weekly, The Onion, Boing Boing, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Beast and various other publications. He hosts the weekly Boing Boing interview podcast RiYL, has appeared as a regular NPR contributor and shares his Queens apartment with a rabbit named Lucy.
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